Trafficker exposed prostitution tryst to wife of 'john,' DA says

A Florida man has been jailed after allegedly extorting a man for nearly $8,000 over his tryst with a prostitute in Monroe County.

Courtesy photo

Authorities said John David Golom, 53, of Safety Harbor, was arrested Feb. 1 in Queens, New York, after spending several months on the run.

Investigators said they had been searching for Golom since this past October, but were first tipped off about him in April 2017 when a "john" -- a customer of prostitution services -- came forward saying a person who went by the phony name "Bobby Lupo" was extorting him for cash.

That investigation ended when police couldn't identify Lupo by his true identity or the alleged prostitute the victim had an encounter with, authorities said.

A detective with the Monroe County District Attorney's Office reportedly was able to find Golom during an Oct. 23 prostitution sting operation. Authorities said the detective contacted a woman on a website promoting prostitution and arranged for her to meet a male detective at a Tannersville motel. When the woman agreed to exchange cash for a sex act, she was arrested, police said.

Police then learned of a second woman possibly promoting prostitution in another room of the motel, authorities said, and ordered her and her infant child out of the room. Investigators later obtained search warrants for both rooms, and seized a laptop computer as well as hard drives and thumb drives, authorities said.

Investigators said police were able to match photographs on the computer and the website with one of the women at the hotel.

In interviews with investigators, authorities said, the women revealed Golom met one in Florida when she was homeless, and vowed to take care of her, before telling her to go work at a strip club. He then took any money she earned at the club, police said.

Golom then told the woman to start engaging in prostitution at the strip club and she was eventually fired in doing so, police said. Golom allegedly became "angry" over the firing and began advertising the woman for prostitution services on the website, according to police.

The other woman interviewed told police she responded to an ad placed by Golom for an escort agency. Once hired by Golom, she then began promoting prostitution along with the other woman. She agreed at the time that the money she made -- upward of several hundred daily for sex acts -- would go to Golom, police said.

The homeless woman allegedly was told by Golom if she didn't take money he would "dispose of her," and claimed in court records he was violent toward her. The other woman claimed she was raped by Golom on at least one occasion, according to police.

The pair told police they traveled to Pennsylvania when Golom fled police in a separate charge in Florida.

The "john" in April told investigators he was forced to pay "Bobby Lupo" thousands in hush money over the sexual relationship he had with one of the prostitutes, police said. Golom threatened to reveal the encounters to the man's wife when the prostitute became pregnant with the man's child, police said.

Police were able to identify the woman during the prostitution sting, and then identified Golom as "Bobby Lupo" through social media photographs matching those found on a seized computer.

Detectives called Golom on Oct. 26 and informed him of the seizure of the electronics, to which he allegedly replied for an officer to "throw them away." Golom also told a detective he was related to the two women at the hotel, but wouldn't say how, according to police.

Police said they learned through cellphone records of alleged prostitution transactions set up by Golom in Florida, New York and Pennsylvania. Further investigations revealed Golom had trafficked the women through a fictitious escort agency in Florida, where he would recruit them to work for him as prostitutes in both strip clubs and the online website, authorities said.

Investigators also learned Golom had been at the Tannersville hotel during the Oct. 23 sting operation but fled during the arrests, police said. Police said he later traveled with the pregnant woman to various areas, including Queens, and had threatened that if she didn't cooperate with him, she wouldn't see her child again.

Golom has been charged with two counts of involuntary servitude, rape, two counts of trafficking in individuals, four counts of promoting prostitution and criminal use of a communications facility, authorities said. All of the charges are felony offenses.

Authorities said Golom was arraigned on the charges before District Judge Daniel Kresge, who set his bail at $500,000. As of Sunday, he remains jailed at the Monroe County jail in lieu of bail.

Authorities said they believe there could be more extortion victims and are continuing their investigation.